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Rockies' Arenado, other players react to Arizona plan: 'If it's safe, I'm in'

Victor Decolongon / Getty Images Sport / Getty

Nolan Arenado wants to play baseball, and he's not alone.

The Colorado Rockies All-Star third baseman voiced his conditional support for the reported plan to host the entire MLB season in Arizona without fans in attendance.

"If it's safe, I'm in," Arenado said, according to Patrick Saunders of The Denver Post. "I believe these ideas wouldn't be thrown around if it wasn't approved or (can't) be (approved). I want to get back out there and play."

The reported proposal involves a theoretical Opening Day in May with games held at the Arizona Diamondbacks' home park as well as 10 ballparks typically used for Cactus League play during spring training.

Arenado is not the only major leaguer who voiced support for the idea. New York Yankees reliever Adam Ottavino is interested, but he also admitted that it seems like a long shot.

"I don't have any good insight but I would be in the camp of supporting the idea," Ottavino said, according to Joel Sherman of The New York Post. "I'm sure a lot would have to go right for it to actually happen, but I'm hoping it can work because I want to play."

St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Harrison Bader was similarly on board and also added some humor.

However, not everyone is inspired by the Arizona-exclusive proposal.

Milwaukee Brewers star Christian Yelich said Tuesday on WEEI's "Ordway, Merloni & Fauria" show that there's probably a 50-50 chance that the season doesn't happen.

"It's the desert," an anonymous New York Mets player told Mike Puma of The New York Post. "Stuff doesn't live there, it dies there."

Chicago White Sox slugger Eloy Jimenez isn't enamored by the plan, but he's willing to go along with it if it gets his team on the field.

"I just want to play baseball," Jimenez said, according to Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times. "If they decide to play here (in Arizona), I'm going to enjoy it, but we want to play a normal regular season, like travel and all that. And play for our city, you know?"

This scenario faces a number of hurdles, and MLB confirmed Tuesday that a fixed site was only one of the contingencies the league and the players' association are discussing.

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